Local industrialists and Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, have welcomed the imposition of the minimum import price on synthetic knitted fabrics.
A notification to this effect was issued by Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Director General of Foreign Trade and ex-officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India, on Saturday.
Sharing the copy of notification this evening, Arora said the notification has been issued with the approval of the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry on Saturday.
He said as per the notification, the minimum import price of USD 3.5 per kg has been imposed on five specific synthetic knitted fabrics for the period up to September 15, 2024.
“The existing free import policy, as it stands prior to the issuance of this notification, shall be in effect starting from September 16, 2024, unless expressly amended by a subsequent notification,” he added.
The five specific synthetic knitted fabrics on which the import duty has been imposed are unbleached or bleached fibres, dyed fibres, yarns of different colours, printed fibres, and others.
Arora hoped the imposition of the minimum import price on synthetic knitted fabrics up to September 15 will give appreciable reprieve to the domestic industry as it was suffering badly and incurring losses due to lack of a free import policy earlier.
He hoped the date of imposition of minimum import price on synthetic knitted fabrics would be extended after September 15, in the larger interest of the domestic industry.
He thanked the Union Government — especially the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry — for providing relief to the industry. He said he had been taking up this issue both in and outside Rajya Sabha for the last few months.
He said during a special mention in the Budget session of Rajya Sabha this year, he had expressed his concern over dumping of fabrics imported from China at an unfair import duty in the Indian market.
He had also taken up this issue with the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The local industry has also welcomed today’s notification.
Reacting to the notification, Gagan Khanna, CMD, Arisudana Industries Ltd, said this was a long-awaited move. He added industrial units were running at 70 per cent of their capacities over one-and-a-half years and that Arora had played a key role in providing relief to the local industry. He said Arora is the first MP who is easily accessible to the industry for raising its voice in Rajya Sabha and before the government as well.
Rajneesh Gupta, director, Balaji Finishing Mills Pvt Ltd, said today’s notification will ultimately provide a great relief to the local market, which was disturbed due to heavy import of fabrics. He said the new move will increase the cost of imported fabrics. He appreciated Arora’s initiative in the larger interest of the textile industry. The move will minimise losses of the local industry, he added.
